Soldiers come to the world

Liu Jing walked quickly to the outer room with the door open, and a large amount of light shot out from the room, illuminating the yard as well. From a distance, he saw Xu Shu pacing back and forth in the room, looking worried.

Liu Jing couldn't help laughing. As the chief steward, it is really difficult for him to resettle the fugitives, repatriate the people after the war, and plan for 10,000+ troops.

"Is Yuan Zhi worried about Chai Mi again?" Liu Jing walked into the room with a smile.

Xu Shu hurriedly saluted, "See Zhou Mu!"

"Sit down and talk!" Liu Jing waved his hand and asked Xu Shu to sit down with a smile.

Xu Shu sat down, smiled bitterly, and said: "Just after the Battle of Chibi, we got 20 shi of grain, and another 15 shi of grain in the two cities of Jiangling and Xiangyang, and [-] shi of grain from Pengze Water Village. , so much food is enough to support the battle against Jiangdong, I shouldn't have any worries, but when I think about the future, I always feel very heavy."

"What are you worried about in the future?"

Liu Jing asked with a smile: "Is it because our taxes are not enough to raise soldiers?"

"Frankly, it does!" [

Xu Shu sighed softly, "Actually, from the very beginning, we were far from being able to cover our expenditures. The taxes in Jiangxia County can only support [-] to [-] troops at most, and the money and food expenses of the other tens of thousands of troops are all paid for by the Tao family. Support, Tao Sheng came to visit me today and told me the sad news that both Bashu and Jiangdong have banned trade with Jingzhou, that is to say, we can’t buy food even if we have money.”

Jiangdong's decision is understandable, but Bashu also prohibits trade with Jingzhou, which is beyond Liu Jing's expectation. He thought in his heart: "Is there really something wrong with the new money?" '

Xu Shu continued: "The main reason is that a large amount of materials have flowed into Jingzhou in the past six months, which has already aroused the vigilance of Bashu and Jiangdong. At the beginning of the year, Bashu and Jiangdong successively banned grain trade. Now all trade is banned. We minted new money. But I never thought it would cause such a big trouble.”

Liu Jing pondered for a moment and asked, "Are we so dependent on trade?"

Xu Shu sighed, "The coal in Bashu and the iron ore in Jiangdong are indispensable to us, but I am more worried about food problems!"

Liu Jing walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, and suddenly turned around and said, "But didn't the grain produced in Jingzhou ten years ago feed 13 troops?"

Xu Shu understood Liu Jing's question, the food was self-sufficient in the past, why not now?

He thought for a while and said: "In the past, we were indeed self-sufficient. Xiangyang alone could support [-] troops, and Nan County could support [-] troops. But the problem is that Cao Cao's southern invasion caused great damage to Jingzhou. Although the population did not decrease much, Considering factors such as laying waste land and rebuilding homes, it will take at least three years to restore Jingzhou’s previous grain production, and I’m worried that we won’t be able to hold on for such a long time.”

Liu Jing was a little confused. He knew Xu Shu very well. Xu Shu would never bother him about what happened three years later. There must be a very urgent practical problem. Liu Jing glanced at him and asked with a smile: "You Just tell me the truth! What the hell is going on now?"

Xu Shu had no choice but to sigh and said: "To tell you the truth, the official warehouse has run out of food. I didn't think it was a big problem at first, because we have made enough money, and we still have a lot of gold in our hands, and we have money. It's high in copper and extremely popular everywhere, so I plan to buy grain in bulk.

Unexpectedly, the Tao family told me that both Bashu and Jiangdong banned trade with us, which made my plan come to nothing. Now the refugees are starting to return to Xiangyang and Nanjun one after another. They just need a lot of food. At least until this autumn, the government must give them relief. But now the total grain storage in official warehouses in various places is less than [-] shi, which is already enough for the pot. "

Only then did Liu Jing understand Xu Shu's meaning. It turned out that he came to ask himself for food from the army warehouse.

Whether it is the spoils of the Chibi War or the spoils of Jiangling and Xiangyang, they are all owned by the military and stored in the military warehouses of Xiakou and Wuchang. There are as many as 38 shi of grain alone, but these materials and grain are owned by the army. and local government.

Liu Jing pondered for a while and asked, "How much food do you need here before the autumn harvest in September?"

Xu Shu had already calculated the food shortage. Seeing Liu Jing's intention to agree, he quickly said, "At least 30 shi, but we can exchange livestock for 20 shi of grain from farmers in Jiangxia and Changsha counties, but there are still [-] shi. A gap of [-] stone."[

Liu Jing nodded, "I still say the same old saying, if there is not enough food, you can transfer it from the military warehouse, but you can't transfer it all at once. You need to transfer as much as you need. I think the problem of food shortage will change a lot within two months. .”

Xu Shu was thoughtful, "Zhou Mu refers to Jiangdong?"

Liu Jing smiled slightly, "It's not necessarily Jiangdong."

Xu Shu's carriage left Liu Jing's mansion and was driving on the wide avenue. The moonlight shone through the gaps in the carriage and shone on Xu Shu's complicated expression.

He was still thinking about the last few words Liu Jing said to him, "You did a good job raising food prices last year. Now we need to develop and accumulate strength. belt."

"In the past, the Qin State was able to unify the world with the extremely weak body of the Seven Kingdoms. What it relied on was to plunder the wealth of the people. We also want to collect wealth from the people. We don't use it for pleasure and squandering, but for support. The army is used to make weapons and buy pig iron. Jingzhou has been stable for decades, and the people are prosperous. Xu Changshi, we must find a way to collect wealth. tax!"

Xu Shu couldn't help sighing. Although it was difficult for him to accept the theory of plundering people's wealth, in fact, this is the only way for a country to become strong, and it is often difficult to have both.

It is not far from Chaisang to Xiazhi County, about 150 miles. The hills along the way are covered with large forests. If you march day and night, it will take one and a half days. However, the [-] troops led by Zhou Yu walked for three days. They rested in the dense forest during the day, marched at night, lurked day and night, and secretly marched to Xiazhi County.

Zhou Yu participated in the Battle of Chibi. He knew the power of kerosene, especially for water battles. It was the nemesis of warships. Unfortunately, Jiangdong searched for many years in the territory, but he still failed to find kerosene. This made Zhou Yu extremely disappointed.

Zhou Yu has been firmly opposed to the Jiangdong Army's westward expedition. It was not until he heard that Xu Sheng had captured Chaisang that his position finally loosened. He opposed the western expedition, but he never opposed the capture of Xiazhi County. , that is the oil production area of ​​the Jiangxia Army. If it can be occupied, it will have great strategic significance for the Jiangdong Army.

But Zhou Yu also knew that Xiazhi County was equally important to Jiangxia, Liu Jing would never leave an empty county for himself, and Liu Jing would definitely station heavy troops in Xiazhi County.

In the evening, the sunset had already set, the red clouds in the sky had faded into pale pink twilight, and the sky gradually changed from light blue to light turquoise. In a valley thirty miles away from Xiazhi County, Eight Thousand Jiangdong Army They are gathering together for dinner in twos and threes, preparing to set off after dark.

In a forest composed of dozens of big trees, a temporary marching tent was set up. In the tent, Zhou Yu stood in front of the map and meditated for a long time, while Xu Sheng and Ding Feng stood beside him. Xu Sheng was the one who set out for Zhou Yu. The deputy general of Xiazhi County, while Ding Feng was the vanguard.

Zhou Yu was thinking about the countermeasures to seize Xiazhi County. Now they are only [-] miles away from Xiazhi County, and the war is imminent, but how to fight?How to capture the next pheasant?Zhou Yu didn't have a clear plan yet. If he couldn't outwit him, he could only attack by force.

At this time, Ding Feng next to him said: "I want to report to the guards, the last time I was forced to retreat by the Jiang Xia army because the clippers were burned by kerosene in the water, and I have indeed learned the power of kerosene. march."

"We don't even have a boat, what does it have to do with marching in the water?" Zhou Yu glared at him with some dissatisfaction.

Ding Feng was so frightened that he didn't dare to say another word. Zhou Yu also realized that he was too tough, so he slowed down and said, "I also know that Jiang Xia's army is very powerful. Naturally, we have to be more prepared. The key now is that I am considering Captured Xiazhi County at the lowest cost, but suffered from insufficient information."

At this time, a soldier outside the tent reported: "Report to the guards, the scouts have returned, and brought a herb picker, who is said to know about the situation in Xiazhi County."

Zhou Yu was overjoyed, and quickly ordered: "Bring it in quickly!"

After a while, several scouts brought in an old man. He was about 60 years old. He was thin and thin, but he was very energetic. He knelt down and kowtowed when he entered the tent: "Xiao Min Hong Yun kowtows to the general!"

"My husband, please get up!"

Zhou Yu signaled his soldiers to help the old man up, and asked him with a smile, "Where is the old man from? How did he know the situation in Xiazhi County?"

"Xiaomin is from Xiazhi County. He lives by collecting herbs. He was moved to Yangxin County last year. Because he often collects herbs nearby, he has a better understanding of the situation in Xiazhi County."

Zhou Yu nodded and asked again: "Do you know how many troops are stationed in Xiazhi County now, and who is the general?"

The old man smiled wryly and said: "Xiaomin is not sure, but about ten days ago, many Jiangxia troops came, probably tens of thousands of them. As for who the leader is, Xiaomin really does not know."

Zhou Yu asked some more about the situation, and then ordered someone to take the old man down. He walked to the map, pondered for a moment, and said to Xu Sheng and Ding Feng: "If I guessed correctly, the leader of Jiang Xia's army should still be Wei Yan. People have lost Chaisang, and now they must be extremely cautious, and they will redeem their sins with merit. In addition, the city wall is tall and strong. With our [-] troops, if we want to take Zhixian by force, I am afraid that our army will suffer too many casualties. I decided to use force. , forcing Jiang Xia's army to go out of the city to fight."

Speaking of this, Zhou Yu said to Xu Sheng next to him: "Wen Xiang will go back to Chaisang first, and tell Marquis Wu that I need fifty cargo ships, and ask him to send them immediately to disembark the pheasants."